Andalusia Pa Oct 27/1871
My dear Mary
You shall all get
oneat least, one letter from me, - I shall impose it upon you, - and I am not going, so much as ask you or Hattie to answer it I will try and overcome any desire which may arise - for I suppose it is unlawful - to hear from either of you.I will not go crazy or do any other rash thing if I dont [sic] hear from home once a month. This is the rule that I have laid down for myself.
Dont [sic] you hope that I will live up to it? I should, at first thought, say that I had been from home 24 months and had not heard from there in the mean time. Am I too hard on you? Mother has stood by me as best she could, I will know, with all that she has had to do. I feel greatly concerned about her these days, for a letter does not get here until nearly a week after it is written and then it seems like old news, when you want to know how you are all getting on now.
I hope you will excuse the appearance of this sheet as all sorts of misfortunes have befallen it since I sat down to write.
Al Ching has been in here displaying himself this eve. all dressed up in the Chinese costume, queue and all. He has written in Chinese for me & I will send it if I think when I send this. He is a real nice fellow. One of the higher class of Chinese. He has a friend who is in the Theological Sem. I think preparing to go back to China as a missionary.
Oct. 28. Saturday night: This letter was not sent to day, and I will continue -
No letter from home since a week ago to-day, and that was written several days before.
I wish I could hear from home on Saturdays for it seems so long to wait over Sundays.
It is after nine o'clock I expect, and I should do well to go to bed but I planned to finish this and think I will. I have been reading Tenney's Geology, the Lafayette Monthly - a periodical published by the Seniors of Lafayette College, Easton Pa., and the Independent this eve.
Miss Roney received a box from home this eve, and I was forcibly reminded of Sem. life. Our table was covered with cake[,] pie, preserves, cans of fruit &c &c She lives in Belvidere New Jersey. Have I told you that Miss Sturtevant is back again, and I like her so much. She is a real genial, whole souled body, and one that you could not help liking very much. She sings some, but cannot read music as well as she would like, and to-day she asked me if I would teach her the notes, so that she could read tunes readily. whereupon we formed an agreement to sing together regularly, & so get practice.
It has been recreation day, but I have ben very busy all day. This morning I spent in covering new Library books for the boys. There is a nice selection of them which Miss Newhall and I got up at the Dr's request. Only a few to be sure, but quite readable ones, all of them. I intend to read some of them before long. "Little Men" is one [of] them. This afternoon I have been getting my Class book ruled and ready for use next week, as we are there to mark recitations and deportment. You see that my duties are getting a little more arduous than they have been. I have had a pretty easy time thus far. I enjoy my Latin classes very much altho' they are beginners.
Am to have one class in algebra and one of the members of the class is a Spaniard that can speak hardly a word of English. I dont [sic] know how I shall succeed in teaching him any thing. I have one boy that stammers quite badly, which I hear read one half hour extra each day.
Received a letter and the Greenfield paper from father yesterday. It was the second time that I had heard from him since I came.
I did not hear of Ellen Rowe's death until a few days since, when it was mentioned casually in a letter from Lucy Armstrong. I was of course greatly shocked as I supposed that she was better, not hearing any thing said about her. How terribly sad it seems.
I left her photograph in the South Parlor. I wish that you would see that it is put away where it will not get lost.
How do you get on at school? I am teaching Annie composition, as perhaps I told you in my other letter, but she has not got so far as composing much original yet. She studies from a book that you never saw, nor I till I came here. I like it very much.
Oh! for some word from home tonight -
Good night Molly -
your loving sister
CorneliaMon. morn. Received Hattie's letter this morn & feel better. I am to change rooms I expect to day - Room with Miss Sturtevant - Do write me about every thing especially about the affairs in the mill - farm news.